Coming Home
by Doctor Morrison
Summary: After a fire that claimed both his friends, homeless youth Ven Kazeumo is left alone and crippled by burns. He thought he had no living relatives, until one day he meets his cousin who not only paid for his medical care, but wants to take him home. AU.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. _

_Possibly triggering material: Talk of severe injury, fire, suicide, child molestation, abuse, character death but no actual scenes._

_Like Bleach, this will be the first of many. I will warn accordingly. _

Coming Home:

Inspired by a song

The sun blazed it's mockingly bright rays into Ventus's hospital room. The weather was mocking him. The world was ignoring him. Everything in this life was going by without him while he was stuck here in this tiny room alone. No get well cards. No visitors. Just him. Alone. In this tiny room, bound to this wheelchair and cane for the remainder of his life.

He no longer _had_ a life.

His parents were dead. They had been so for ten years now. No one adopted him, he was passed like a football from family to family. A few were the nicest, sweetest people in the world, others just used him for the government stipend. Comfort to pain radically from one year to another, never knowing who your friends are, never knowing when the person aid to be your care taker is going to sneak into your bed at night or give you a hug when you come home from school all of it takes a toll. At the age of fourteen, he ran from the foster system. Ran like hell. He ended up even more alone that he already was.

Aqua and Terra came to him like angels. Yeah, they had to pickpocket to make a living, but they were family. He was so sure they'd remain that way for the rest of their lives. He was so sure. Absolutely positive. He finally had something to hold onto.

He was naive.

_"Why did you never come forward?" The Doctor asked the young man standing in front of him. He was met with a small, sad smile._

_ "My mother was the...black sheep. She was cut off completely." The young man toyed with the necklace around his neck. The keep sake was obviously related to the boy's absent mother. "She didn't even know Ventus existed." _

Ven looked out at the sky with a broad frown. He didn't believe in the sun anymore. There was no such thing as comfort or home. He'd never had one. Ever. His parent's home was bulldozed. His foster homes were temporary and the building he, Aqua and Terra called home burned. It _burned_.

Terra yelled his name. Aqua grabbed him. The roar of flames and the crushing heat. The floor groaning beneath them. The fireman calling from the floor below them. They tried to answer, to scream, yell, cry...anything. The smoke was too much. Far too much. The last thing Ven remembered before the ceiling crashed down on them was Terra and Aqua throwing their bodies over him.

_"I must say you don't look very good on paper. You've never even met him." The Doctor replied rubbing his wrinkled forehead. The young man was quiet but a subtle tightening of the fists showed that he was just a bit indignant._

_ "I'm a registered nurse's assistant. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him." His tone was firm and insistent. The Doctor could empathize with the young man but he couldn't just hand a patient over to someone who didn't have power of attorney. _

_ "I understand but according to your background check..." _

_ "You're going to kick him back out onto the streets in his condition? I'm Next of Kin, that should be more than enough." The young man tried not to yell but it became increasingly difficult. The Doctor didn't expect the Young Man to grab his arm and he found himself staring a pair of pleading but pristine blue eyes. Eyes like that could make even the hardest heart consent to anything."Please, Doctor."_

Ven found himself shaking. His breath uneven. He didn't press the call button. He didn't want the nurses in here. He could take care of this one himself.. His breath scraped the inside of his lungs. He could smell the burring flesh of his family, hear them screaming and the feel the second floor giving way as hell came down on them. His hand groped and scraped for his inhaler. Breathing would never be the same.

His first attack came two months ago before the skin grafts. He couldn't He just wanted to stop breathing. End the pain, leave this world, return to his family. They managed to save him and put him on suicide watch. It was a cute little nurse named Olette who trotted into his room that night and replenished his pain medications. She wasn't supposed to speak with him but she couldn't help herself. _"Why?" _She had asked him. _"They tried so hard to save you, why would you want to ruin that?" _She sounded as if she were speaking from experience. He never asked but everyday, she came around to check on him and slipped him extra jello cups when she could. She was a sweet girl and she'd damn near saved his life. He pressed down hard on the inhaler and his lungs surged with a sharp pain before suddenly falling into a manageable breathing pattern.

_"He's the only family I have." The Young Man pleaded. He was following The Doctor now as if that would influence his decision. The Doctor was truly impasse here. Paying for someone's medical care was one thing, taking a total stranger into your home – family or not – was a huge undertaking for a man his age. Ventus had no records, he'd no education to speak of and The Young Man himself was only a nurse's assistant in a small town clinic. The patient would be completely dependent on him. Could he really support two people? But where else did young Ventus have to go? He couldn't stay here. _

"You're lucky I walked by." Olette was not happy with him. That wasn't really a surprise. He'd been able to take his medicine but as far as the rules go, he should've pushed the Call Button.

"I can't rely on a Call Button. I'm not gonna always have it with me." Ven said taking the cup of water she handed him. "Thank you." Olette just smiled and sat on the empty hospital bed. "Your cousin is a register nurse's assistant, I'm sure he's the next best thing." Ven tried to smile but she already knew that he had mixed feelings about his Next of Kin.

"My mother always told me she was an only child." Ven insisted. Olette placed a hand on his shoulder but didn't interrupt him. "I just...it's uncomfortable knowing she lied to me." Uncomfortable wasn't quite the word for it but it was the best he could manage. Aqua never lied to him. "Have you seen him?" Olette nodded before she answered.

"Yeah. He looks just like you, honestly." She said. "He's a bit more tan but you have the same eyes." Ven was silent obviously struggling with the knowledge that after everything he'd gone through, he still had a family who would probably leave him too. He was so sick and goddamn tired of being uprooted at moment's notice. He was just barely nineteen and every place he'd ever called home had been destroyed. Twice.

"I should just quit while I'm ahead." He muttered.

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

_"Alright." The word reluctantly crawled out of The Doctor's mouth. His response was met with a massive invasion of personal space. The Young Man had_ hugged _him. He had no idea how to respond to it. After a moment, he just patted his back uneasily. He had to pry the boy off of him all the same. "He already had all of his medication, and..."_

_ "It's already been taken care of, doctor." The Young Man said holding up a hand. "I _did_ say I'd take good care of him." But The Doctor was far too experienced to truly lay his reservations to rest. He just nodded._

_ "Come with me." With that, he led The Young Man down the hallway. _

"You know, Olette." Ven said quietly. Olette hopped off the bed smiling. "I never got a chance to you know...thank you." He took her hand and patted it. Olette's heart melted at the sight of his kind smile. Somewhere in her heart, she prayed that someone as kind of Ven wouldn't have to endure anymore tragedy. No good deed goes unpunished. "You've pretty much saved my life. I'm really going to miss you." Olette wanted to cry.

"I'm just a call away. I gave your cousin my number." She replied. She gave into a sharp rise of emotion and embraced Ven tightly, kissing his cheek. She straightened back up at the sound of someone clearing his throat. "Oh, sorry Doctor. I was just saying goodbye." She said a bit bashfully. She gave Ven one last good bye before leaving the two long lost cousins to connect.

"Ventus, this is Sora Kazumo. Your cousin."

Sora was...shorter than he imagined. In fact, Ven was fairly sure that if he stood up, he'd be taller. Sora also looked younger. Though, it just might have been those eyes. Sharp and blue just like his own...but those iris patterns clung to the illusion of innocence that he could tell had been lost years ago. Sora held out his hand to shake. Ventus noticed with a small frown that there was a slight tremor in his hand and it wasn't from nervousness. He shook it all the same.

"Please, call me Ven." Sora had a kindhearted smile, Ven noted. The kind that made it easy to hide secrets.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ven." Sora shaking his hand. "Are you ready to go home?" Home. Ven held back a snort of contempt.

It was a long trip to the front desk. Ven just kept his head down and his mouth shut. The conversation between Sora and the doctor passed right over his head and he gladly ignored it. Sora was apprehensive but he remained calm as the situation required. Ven wasn't receptive, that much was obvious. That didn't really go as far as to say ungrateful just distant. He offered to help Ven into the car but the other insisted that he could get into the car himself wheelchair or not. Sora let him do as he pleased and placed the folded chair into the trunk. Ven just gazed at the disappearing figure of Olette waving her goodbyes before she went back to work.

The car ride all the way to the islands was _painfully_ silent. Sora wasn't much for dead quiet whereas Ven didn't seem to care. He was more intent of watching Twilight Town disappear into the distance in the rear view mirror. He didn't look back at his cousin until he turn onto the exit ramp and it vanished. It was a forty-five minute drive from here.

"So." _Oh god..._ "Have you ever been to the islands?" Sora hoped for a conversation that Ven was less than willing to start.

"No." More silence. That went well. Fifteen minutes went by, Ven wondered if Sora's car radio was broken. He had to admit, passing the encroaching palm trees, the scenery looked rather beautiful. No smog, no crowded streets just a long bridge stretching over a wide expanse of blue. It was beautiful, he'd never seen the beaches. In fact, he'd hardly left Twilight Town. He wondered what Sora must've thought driving by this stretch of ocean and the tiny sand bar islands every time he had to go into the city. Did he ever live in Twilight Town? To answer those questions he'd actually have to talk to the guy. He took a breath to finally say something.

"I'm sorry." Sora beat him to it.

"Why?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"For not visiting with you face to face before now." Ven didn't respond so Sora continued. "I was...afraid. I didn't think you'd accept me, considering." He must've been referring to his mother. "I know that you mother wanted nothing..."

"It's fine." Ven said pointedly. "I don't think my mother minds." There was no humor in his voice leading them into another awkward silence. Ven heard Sora let out a long, almost broken sigh. Guilt overwhelmed him at record breaking speed. He shouldn't treat his last living relative like this. Not only had he paid for Ven's medical care but gave him a place to stay. Was being rude to him really a way to repay his kindness? "I'm sorry...it's just..."

"I understand." Sora said kindly. Could anything make this guy mad? "Honestly, I can't imagine what you must be feeling." He would've reached out and grabbed Ven's hand if he could spare it.

"Actually, Olette being around helped a lot." Ven replied as if that would somehow ameliorate the bare facts of the situation. "She...she's very nice."

"She seemed very attached to you." He didn't need to elaborate beyond the implication. Ven just smiled.

"Taken." He replied. "But I wouldn't anyway...she just seems...untouchable." This earned him and unexpectedly mirthless laugh from his cousin.

"I know the feeling." Sora muttered.

He turned into Exit 45 off the bridge and into the Islands. Destiny Islands they were called. The general consensus was that if you couldn't handle or got too old for the city life, you came here. At one point, the island was so full of retirement homes and old folks, people in Twilight Town threw around the rather malicious joke of calling the place "Final Destination" Islands but that was a long time ago. Sora resided on one of the smaller islands. Away from all the tourist traps of the Southern Beaches.

Gazing at the small town streets, Ven noted that the Islands were...rather beautiful. It looked just like it did in the brochures, verdant palm trees, the sight of the placid beach at every turn. _Hurricane season must be hell though._ He took note of the flood walls and sent up a small prayer to anyone who may be up there that they were sturdy. He'd have to wait until September rolled around to see if anyone heard him.

"So..." Now it was Ven's turn to start an awkward conversation. "How long have you lived here?"

"I was born here, but we moved. I came back out here when my brother died." Sora replied. He wasn't over the his brother's death just like he wasn't over Aqua and Terra's. "He was shot three years ago in Radiant Garden."

"Three years ago...? You mean, that huge gang..."

"Yes." Sora didn't need to let him finish and Ven was more than happy to let it go.

The riots in Radiant Garden were national news. Thanks to the obsessive press coverage, The Organization and The Heartless turned Hollow Bastion, the slums of Radiant Garden, into an utter warzone. Now this begged the question, was Sora's brother involved or one of the many innocent bystanders? He didn't think it would be appropriate to ask.

"I'm not the only one from there. A lot of us just moved to the nearest small town to avoid it all, you know?" Sora's voice sounded strangely passive. He was still coping with the loss. So Sora _did_ have an ulterior motive...but an understandable one.

They drove past a Florist where a man with pink hair and a cane and a petite blonde girl cared for the beautiful plants that filled the outside so only the windows were visible. It was like their own personal forest, that they slaved over around that small cottage of a shop. He could only imagine what the greenhouse looked like and what about inside the shop? Ven let another little come to his face. He could almost hear Aqua laughing joyously at the sight of it all.

"That's Namine and her brother Marluxia. I could take you by there one day, if you want." Sora offered. The blonde, most likely Namine, tapped her brother and they waved to the passing car regardless of the fact that she held onto potentially dangerous shears. Namine was far more enthusiastic than Marluxia. He seemed like the type of guy who wasn't enthusiastic about much of anything. Ven found himself waving to the girl before he even realized he made the effort to move.

"I'd like that."

Arriving Sora's house, Ven tried to hide his excitement at the fact that they had a view of the beach. If his leg ever got better, he figured it wouldn't hurt to learn to swim. It was so nice to get Twilight Town out of his lungs. He couldn't quite place it, but he could already tell this place was...different. From the quaint pastel pink, almost beige, stucco to the long palm in hanging lazily over the yard. Sora got out first going to the trunk to get Ven's wheelchair.

"Gimme the cane." Ven said opening the door.

"You sure?" Sora asked, taking the wheelchair out regardless. It couldn't stay in the trunk.

"Yeah. I can handle it." That may have been a lie. Ven had only used the cane twice but his legs were raw from disuse but he refused to stay in that chair any longer. Sora seemed reluctant but rose no further argument. He took the aluminum crutch out of the trunk and handed to his cousin who thanked him lightly and valiantly rose to stand only to fall the very next moment but Sora was there to catch him.

"Thank you." Ven said with a small, embarrassed chuckle.

"Can you make it into the house?" Sora asked. Ven looked back at Sora waiting for the sharp pains in his left side to fade. His cousins eyes were almost identical to his: full of longing, isolation and desperation. Yet there was also a fathomless kindness untouched by the bitterness of a weary life. Though lined by dark circles of fatigue, they were still bright and cheerful, mindful of the world around him. These were the eyes of a caretaker.

"Yeah, but I might need your arm." He said with a nod. He didn't even have to say how much he hated the chair, Sora immediately understood. He could come back for the chair. He grabbed Sora's arm and righted himself. With the help of his cane and cousin, he made it to the door. They worked so well together he almost couldn't tell which was which. Sora unlocked the door and showed him inside. While the other rushed out to get the wheelchair and shut the trunk, Ventus leaned over to flip on the light switch and looked around the house.

It was quaint enough. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in accommodations like this. The living room and kitchen were visible from where he was standing. It had all the comforts of a normal home. From there was a small hallway with three doors. His room, Sora's room and the bathroom, he guessed. The floors were hardwood. Covered by rugs but no carpeting. The house was very clean for the sheer lack of stuff in it. There was a small tv and beside it was a book case, stuffed with books, a laptop sitting complacently on the small, beige sofa and a pair of sandy flip-flops lingering by the door. There were no pictures of loved ones hardly any decoration but the cut sunflowers stuffed into a long vase facing the window and a mood candle on the coffee table. Ven was wrapped in nothing but crushing silence before Sora came clamoring back to the chair.

"It's not much." Sora stated with a laugh. "But the landlord gave me a special deal. He's a nice man." Ven smiled weakly, heart still sinking from the after burn of that deafening silence. The place was so barren, Sora's voice echoed off of the walls. "Your room is on the left, I already have everything set up. You can go on back if you want. I have to get a few more things out of the car." Sora remained cheerful as Ven went down the small, dimly lit hallway without bothering to turn on the light. He opened the door, but not before sparing a look back at the door opposite him. He wondered briefly what Sora's room looked like. He just sighed, giving up the notion and opens his own door.

His new room is just as barren honestly, but the light from the sun high on the beach covered the room like a blanket. He did't even have to turn on the light. There was off-white carpet in this room and a small braided rug into front of the bed. The bed was a full but the room was a bit small. Ven didn't see any reason to raise complaint though. The dresser, the bed and the mirror were all well worn and slightly outmoded. Donations but good ones. He supposed Sora couldn't afford brand new furniture on a nurse's assistant salary. The sheets were clean and pressed which was more than he could ask for. He had to wonder. Just how could Sora even afford his medical care? How could he afford any of this, really?

Those questions could wait.

Ven opened the window and the sound of the roiling ocean filled the room dancing with the light and filling him with a sense of utter relief. He sat down on the bed just so he could listen for a moment. He'd never heard anything like it. This wasn't a busy subway station or an abandoned building. There was no dirt, safety hazards, the sound of scurrying rodents or rude policemen trying to "clean up" the place. Even before that, there was no other children huddled together because there was strength in numbers. No older kid trying to watch him in the shower or overzealous mother with the key to the refrigerator. No fear, no grime...nothing just...relief.

That's when he saw it. The picture.

_"Aqua, where'd you get that camera?" Terra asked as their lady danced around him happily. _

_ "Some tourist left it on the subway. They never even used it." She said checking the picture count. _

_ "How're we ever going to get the money to develop them?" Ven asked with a chuckled. Aqua just gave him a pinch for trying to rain on her parade. _

_ "It's the principle of the thing." She said with a nod. She then proceeded to take a picture of him and Terra and the afternoon continued on in this way, snapping pictures of random buildings, Ven, then Terra, then Aqua,They all took turns with it and they exhausted all twenty seven pictures in one day._

Ven didn't even know this picture existed. He must've taken it, but he didn't even remember. God, had he really taken them for granted that much, not even caring if he took a fake picture of them? The picture itself was burned, nearly washed out. But beyond the char, Aqua and Terra's faces were clear as day. Not burning and screaming but smiling widely...and happy. This was how he was meant to remember them. His family. They were still with him after all this time. With trembling hands, he grabbed the small plastic frame. A small choked noise escaped his throat and before he knew it, he sobbed like a child, spilling tears over the picture. How had he never cried like this? His entire body convulsed. This wasn't another seizure. It was release. He was resigned to mourn alone until a pair of arms wrapped around him.

Stunned, he looked back up and found those Caretaker's Eyes. Sora had heard him all the way from the front door and came running. For a moment, he was speechless but Sora's small, understanding smile was all he needed. It was a smile he would come to cherish. There was nothing more Ven could say or do but lay his head on Sora's shoulder and cry. Sora held him. _Held_ him. Comforting him in the only way he could think of, by just being there until it all stopped crashing down on him. Ven cried himself empty to the sound of the sea and Sora's soft comforting voice. He hugged the only proof of Aqua and Terra's existence to his chest with one arm and clung to Sora with the other. He wasn't sure how long he cried or how loudly but Sora was there when he finished and so were Aqua and Terra smiling up at him.

Looking down at the tissues strewn all over the bed, he realized a few of them had blood soaked through them. His nose bled? He'd cried that hard? Sora didn't seem at all that affected. He supposed a nurse's assistant wouldn't be. As Sora cleaned up the tissues stating the he would make lunch soon, Ven gazed back at his cousin, this skinny, brown haired, boy not even a year older than him, and he could only think of one question to ask him now.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you come for me? I don't...I don't really deserve all of this I'm..." Sora cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"No matter what, Family's all we have in the end, Ven." He replied. "You're all I have, what kind of person would I be if I let you go?" Ven sat there in nonplussed silence before Sora started to leave the room with the bag of dirty tissue. Looking down at the picture, he hugged the picture to him one last time before setting it back on the nightstand. Sora paused for a moment.

"Sorry, I couldn't get a better one." Sora said with a small, sad smile. "It was the only one that survived."

"How?" Ven asked. It was a small disposable camera...how could it have survived the collapse?

"It was the last one in the reel."

_"Sorry, guys that's the last one." Ven said with a shrug. _

_ "Aww, what? We only took a few." Aqua said clearly being sarcastic. Ven handed her the camera and she happily pocketed it. "One day we'll get a photo album." And a house, with a yard and a dog...she didn't have to say it, they were all thinking it. One day everything would finally feel like home._

Sora left the room leaving Ven to look back out at the sea, the peaceful expanse of blue slowly breaking over the shore. There was barely a car on the streets, just the cry of seagulls and people walking by. The sky was clear, the wind gently blue back the curtains. He could smell the humble sea salt from his bedroom window. At the smell of lunch coming from the kitchen, Ven grabbed his cane and pushed himself to his feet. He cast one more glance at the photo. Here with the sea, the sun, his two dear friends gazing back at him with those bright smiles and Sora, a feeling of belonging and peace came over him.

With a smile, he thought maybe, _just maybe_ he finally had a home.

_Thank you so much for reading. Please review. _


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